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Last chance (alt version)- we are the chptrs ————————————————————————

It had been almost a week since the incident with Lilith and the drugs. After ashtray had taken her home and cleaned her up, she stayed the night, before he took her back to Suze's the next day.

He didn't want to leave her, but he had business, and it was some serious shit this time, according to him and Fezco anyway.

Lilith hadn't left her bed in 4 days. Of course, she did to go to the bathroom, but that was it.

She was in a major depressive episode. She didn't get them often, but often enough for them to impact her life more than expected.

Ash, fez, rue and a few of their other friends had messaged and called her multiple times, wondering why the girl had just suddenly fallen off the face of the earth. But to answer that question, she'd need to find out why first, and that she did not know.

Suze had moved Lilith into the guest room, as there wasn't enough room in Lexi and Cassie's room for a 3rd person, making it easier for Lilith to have her depressive isolation episode on her own.

No one understood why this happened. Why this was happening. Why Lilith had suddenly cut everyone off, and didn't show her face to anyone for days on end.

Lilith didn't sleep, she didn't shower, she barely ate. She just led in her bed, curtains drawn at all times, in the dark, occasionally crying, and going numb when she wasn't feeling sad.

Ashtray and fezco had had enough of waiting for the girl to call. They'd just showed up to Suze's house, asking about Lilith and where she was.

"She's having a depressive episode. Her parents had briefly informed me of them before she moved here. She'll have, I don't know, a week maybe, where she'll shut herself out, not leave her room, not eat, nothing, and she'll just isolate herself completely from the outside world. They said she was getting observed and tested for bipolar before she left, but they never got their results since she had to leave so abruptly." Suze said softly to the two boys, who were sat on her couch, listening closely to every word she said.

"Wait- so, you're saying she probably has bipolar?" Ash said, looking at fez before looking back up at Suze.

Suze just nodded, taking a sip of her wine before setting the large glass down on the table in front of them, sitting back on the couch she was on.

"How... how do we help her bruh?" Fez muttered, looking worried and sad at the news.

"We don't. We can't. She won't let us in. Trust me, me Lex and Cass have tried. We've tried so hard, but the most we can do is give her food every so often and leave, expecting her to eat it I guess." Suze said, concern laced in her tone as she shrugged softly.

"Do you uh. Do you mind if- if I go try talk to her? Maybe I could like. Say something that'll help her snap out of it or something." Ash suggested, and for the first time in ages, fezco was seeing the boy truly care for someone other than himself, his grandma and his brother.

"Of course, just don't press on too much with her. She can get.. aggressive when you push her buttons." Suze chuckled, smiling sadly at the boys.

Ash nodded, before standing up and walking to the stairs, navigating the girls room and knocking softly.

When he received no response, he turned the handle gently, cracking the door open slightly. He took a deep breath, before walking in.

"Yo, ma, what's going on witchu? I been callin n textin n shi but you been ignoring me." Ash said, navigating the bed in the dark and perching himself on the edge of it.

She didn't reply, but he knew she was awake. She was listening. She was observing.

"Please, answer me ma, I'm worried." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently.

She just pulled her shoulder out of his grip before snuggling further into her bedsheets.

"The fuck, shawty please." He groaned, hearing her whisper a small "fuck off."

"Fuck do you mean fuck off ma? I actually fuckin care about yu, don't flip me off like this." He said, his tone sharpening a bit. He had a short temper, and no patience. But nonetheless, he still tried.

"Ash, please, fuck off." She mumbled, not even turning to look at him.

"Nah you don't get to tell me to fuckin fuck off when I'm tryna fuckin help u Lilith!" He said, his voice raising a bit as he used her full name, a shockwave sending through her spine at the name.

"Fuck. Off." She said in a hard but deadpanned tone.

This was his cue to snap. He rolled his eyes, dragging the blankets off her body and grabbing her shoulder, spinning her over so she was looking at him.

Even thought it was dark, he could see the exhaustion and pain in her eyes, her eyes red and puffy from all the crying she'd done, cheeks tear stained, her lips chapped and cracking from the lack of lip balm.

He sighed sadly, as her eyes darkened in anger, glaring at him with her jaw clenched.

"What the fuck ash can you just fucking leave me alone!" She yelled, slapping his hand away with tears of anger and exhaustion welling in her eyes.

"Lils... I jus wanna help you." He whispered, her angry demeanour faltering at the sight of him so sad, but then coming back again when she realised why he was even here.

"No. Fuck off I can help myself ashtray." She grumbled, turning over again.

"Clearly fucking not!!" He yelled, before he leaned down and scooped her up, ignoring her thrashing and struggling in his arms as he carried her to the bathroom.

"Ash! Get the fuck off of me ash I don't wanna fuckin do this shit today! Leave me the fuck alone!" She yelled, kicking and hitting him as he carried her but, even thought it hurt like a bitch, he didn't let go of her at all until they got to the bathroom and he sat her down on top of the closed toilet.

As soon as he did, she pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her head on top of them as she watched his every move.

He started running her a bath, making sure to add in bubble bath and bath salts to soothe her body and make her smell nice again.

"Why do you care so much ash?" She whispered, her voice cracking slightly as tears filled her eyes again.

He turned and saw the pure agony on her face, walking to her and kneeling in front of her, resting his hand on her arm as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Because you're a good person, and I don't know why but I have such an insatiable urge to keep you safe, to help you, to make sure you're happy. You're a good person, lils. You don't deserve to hurt." He muttered, a sad smile forming on his lips.

She didn't respond to that, she just smiled sadly back at him, a few tears falling down her cheeks as a small sob left her throat, she couldn't hold it in anymore.

He pulled her into a hug, letting her sob into his chest as he embraced her. His whole body hurt at the sound of her cries, the shaky breaths between sobs, the way her hands balled his shirt into her fists as she pulled him closer.

He gently pulled away and wiped her tears, kissing her forehead, then each cheek, then the tip of her nose, and then he pulled away, staring at her lips for a second before sighing softly.

He liked her, he just didn't know how to act on it. He was scared, just like she was.

"Cmon, let's get you into that bath huh? You smell like ass ma." He giggled sadly, making her choke out a small chuckle and nod.

Just as he stood up, about to leave, she grabbed his hand, eyes saddening again.

"No! Please don't leave.." she whispered, looking away as a light blush dusted her cheeks.

"Okay, just close the shower curtain, I don't wanna feel like a pervert." He giggled, making her nod. He reached down to the under-sink cupboard, pulling out a soft white towel and placing it next to the bath.

Once she was in the bath, shower curtain drawn, the bathroom fell silent, just the occasional sound of splashing and the two's breathing filling the room.

"Suze told me.. about the bipolar thing." Ash suddenly said quietly, making Lilith chuckle a bit before rolling her eyes.

"She had no right to." She mumbled, picking up the cup on the edge of the bath and beginning to wash her hair.

"She cares about you, lils. We all do. We all love you, I-" he then sighed. "I need you, and I need you to be okay." He whispered, stopping before he admitted to something he really was scared to admit to, even to himself.

Little did the two of them know, fez was stood outside the bathroom door at that moment, listening to everything being said. It made him proud, knowing that his brother was changing into someone who really cared about someone and would do anything for them.

It also made him sad. Ash was growing up. He was moving on in life. He wasn't the little toddler he found lying in his hallway as a kid anymore, and he wasn't the same kid that smashed a hammer into mouses head months before anymore either.

He appreciated lilith, for changing ashtray as a person. Sure, the boy was still cold, he still got angry at the smallest things and he would still kill to keep his family safe at even the slightest feeling of being threatened, but lilith really had opened up a new part of him that fezco had never seen before.

Fez smiled, walking away from the door again and back downstairs, nodding his head at Suze.

"Yeah, I think lil bro's got this one covered." He said quietly, leaving the other two to it upstairs.

Authors note; Okay just to clarify this is in no way the end. I just wanted to make a sad chapter cuz I felt like it. I still have many plans for their plot and whatnot. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it, remember to vote <3

Word count: 1800